Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in Canada

Summary

In this second Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) Canada report we look outside
of Canada’s borders to identify global decarbonization trends that will affect Canada and our
ability to achieve deep decarbonization. We focus on identifying resilient pathways that policy
can target regardless of eventual ambition, whether it is tentative, short-term steps or longerterm
shifts towards deeper reductions.
We observe that in virtually every country there are clean energy policies and technology
drivers that are pushing global decarbonization trends, notably decarbonization of electricity
production and energy-efficiency improvements in buildings and transport. Despite global
trends towards progress in reducing the emission intensity of electricity production, buildings
and transport, however, significant gaps in global technology exist that pose a challenge for
Canadian deep decarbonization efforts, especially in primary extraction but also for emission
intensive heavy industries.
It is these twin themes that Canadian climate policy must now address: how to deepen and
broaden current Canadian policy signals and technology deployment, and where policy attention
will be required to push next generation decarbonisation technologies forward, particularly in
liquid fossil fuels and industrial processes.